Thyroid Problems - Symptoms of Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism

i am 37 was feeling tired all the time, have heavy periods, but regular. my doc checked my tsh and it was low so she put me on eltroxin. i am currently on.50mg of it. i have not seen any results as to the end of my fatigue. the problem i have now is my periods won't stop. the last one lasted 21 days it did let up for 4 days but i have it again and it is going on 20 days and hasn't let up. could it be my hormonal balance is out of wack?

The best thing for you to do is to call your doctor and tell him/her all the things that you have said here.

Yes, hypo-thyroidism does cause hair to come out on your brush and comb by the dozens with each stroke. Even my dachshund is getting back the fur behind his head, ears and spots on his back now that he gets a pill every morning. I'm on Armour thyroid each morning, but the hair has not really come back.(sigh).

Too much thyroid replacement or stimulant can cause very real problems too! So get your blood drawn often if you've been diagnosed with a thyroid problem. It doesn't go away, it's for life.

Careful eating peanuts, cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower and a few other foods or it will throw you off and give you the wrong readings for your blood test.

My doctor just called me yesterday and told me I have an underactive thyroid. I, too had been feeling sluggish and tired. My periods were heavy and so not regular, they just never ended. I started to gain a lot of weight. I let this go on for 3 months...way too long. Hopefully when I go in to see him and I get prescribed meds thing will start to get back to normal.

June 2006, I began to lose my hair. 100 -150/day. I also had noticed a 30 lb weight gain from June 2006-March 2007 w/o change in diet. I began to swell in my face and my cheeks and nose turned bright red. My doctor sent me to a dermatologist for my hair and they treated my face for roseasa. The soles of my feet were periodically turning blue. I was felling extremely tired and developed a slow response rate, extremly heavy periods, and severe constipation After giving up on my family doctor and dermatologist, I went to a doctor to assist me in my weight gain. During our visit she drew my blood and the results showed TSH level of 35. I was prescribed Synthroid .50mcg. Since then the swelling of the face went down, some of the red in my face has faded but my hair loss has increased. My heart rate has increased staying b/w 90 -141. I have multiple bruises on my legs and arms. I get choked easily when eating. My allergies are not bad but bothersome. I am scheduled to see a specialist soon. Please help if you are or have experienced similar symptoms.

Noldie wrote:

Yes, hypo-thyroidism does cause hair to come out on your brush and comb by the dozens with each stroke. Even my dachshund is getting back the fur behind his head, ears and spots on his back now that he gets a pill every morning. I'm on Armour thyroid each morning, but the hair has not really come back.(sigh).
Too much thyroid replacement or stimulant can cause very real problems too! So get your blood drawn often if you've been diagnosed with a thyroid problem. It doesn't go away, it's for life.
Careful eating peanuts, cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower and a few other foods or it will throw you off and give you the wrong readings for your blood test.

I didn't realize certain foods messed up the test results. In what way?

Whatever changes take place please keep in touch with your doctor. I have had hypo for the last sixteen years, i have been back on my meds for a year now (synthroid 125/day) but still have a lot of problems. i wish my wieght gain had only been 30 lbs, i have doubled my body wieght over these years. My hair loss has never subsided and neither has my sluggishness both physical and mental as well as other issues. Until i started researching this i didn't realize how many different symptoms there really are. My doctor is strictly a synthroid doctor so i have been gathering information on the other forms of treatment to consult him with. Learn from my mistakes and keep up with your treatment and contact with your doctor.

I have had issues with my thyroid for 5 years. I started out with hypothroidism and was taking .25mcg of synthroid. Now I am taking 1.75 mcg and just found out that I am hyperthyroid but really don't have symptoms of this. I have been running 3-4 miles a day and cutting back on calories for 2 months now. I have only lost 4 pounds. Can you be hyperthyroid and gain weight?

I thought that I was going insane! tired, mood swings, weight gain, inability to concentrate, muddled thoughts, feeling cold, depressed, so very tired (I was falling asleep everywhere), the list goes on. I had so many symptoms but just didn`t know what was wrong. I put some of the symptoms down to stress, my father was critically ill in hospital, my wedding was coming up, my job was in crisis, so had plenty to blame my symptoms on.
I began to feel gradually worse and worse, until I felt really ill. I very rarely go to the doctors, but I felt very scared of what was happening to me.
I was then diagnosed, not only with an underactive thyroid, but according to the doctor, the blood tests had come back as - no thyroxine at all left in my body!
He said he didnt know how I had been functioning at all and to be truthful, I dont know how I had.

I am currently on 150 mcg per day but am not really feeling much better. I have been taking the Levothyroxine tablets for 5 weeks now, should I be feeling much better by now?
Doctor has just increased them from 100 to 150 but I still do not feel much better.

I am also v. worried about the weight gain ( about 2 stone ) any suggestions? please please
I am getting v. worried as I still seem to be gaining weight.

I would appreciate any suggestions or tips.

Thanks so much
Angie

I to have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism have not yet started my medicine yet but is very nervous about it. Ever since I found out I have been researching this. The best diet I found was a low-carb or no-carb diet is this true. The one question I have is will my hair grow back. My hair use to be very thick, not so much any more. And also does the meds help to lose these unwanted pounds.
any help would be appreciated Karen

I went to the gynecologist for my (2 years overdue) annual. I have been very tired, was diagnosed with rosacea 6 years ago, my periods have been getting heavier and heavier, he ran blood tests and told me too much thyroid hormone? But why am I tired and gaining weight and red in the face? Also mood swings and severe hot flashes, sleeplessness. He is blaming increased periods on the uterine fibroid tumors, which he wanted to monitor after seeing grapefruit size on ultrasound.(I want uterus GONE, I am 45 and won't have kids). He put me on (don't remember what now) for a month, but no change, actually worse w/heart palpitations. Going to endocrinologist a week from Friday. What should I ask? What symptoms can they help with?

i have a family history of hypothyroidism and numerous symptoms but blood test normal tsh 2.36 and t4 15. feel rubbish all the time and gaining weight steadiky despite eating less than ever. need help.

Karen Dickson NC wrote:

I to have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism have not yet started my medicine yet but is very nervous about it. Ever since I found out I have been researching this. The best diet I found was a low-carb or no-carb diet is this true. The one question I have is will my hair grow back. My hair use to be very thick, not so much any more. And also does the meds help to lose these unwanted pounds.
any help would be appreciated Karen

I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at 24. My hair began to fall out rapidly. I discovered I had a low iron count. I looked up all the foods and supplements that helped grow hair. My hair did grow back. It is certainly scary to see it coming out!

Oh and hyperthyroid with weight gain. YES that happens too. I JUST found out last week that my last increase put my into hyper. "Just found out" is a bit of lie since I KNEW 3 months ago that I wasn't feeling right. I suspected I had gone into hyper but I didn't have it checked out. So I'll just say I've been hyper for at least 3 months, but I didn't lose weight, maybe some, but not enough that I would go bragging about it.

If there is one thing that stands out about wieght and Thyroid is that whatever you gain at the onset is the most you'll ever lose by correcting with meds. Same goes for hyper. As soon as the condition is corrected, at best your weight is going to go back to where is was.

The problem is that Thyroid helps control metabolism. And once it gets slowed down, it's not all that anxious to speed back up.

I think once you're diagnosed as hypo, the dr should just automatically hand you a diet plan and the membership application to a gym. He should then tell you to get rid of your scale and just do the best you can.

I have been hypo for years and have been on Rx for 2 years. Must people don't understand this conditions and drs aren't very helpful. Mine said "your thyroid is off the charts. Here's a Rx. Go get another blood test next month." And that's all he's ever said to me about my condition. The best thing you can all do is educate yourselves! Read books, read websites...read read read!

I can answer some of the questions -these are just from personal experience so you'll have to remember that you/your body/your reaction might be different from mine.

And just so you know, my TSH was at 118 when my DR finally discovered it. I had symptoms from the top of my head all the way to the bottom of my feet. But it took a trip to the ER for pitting edema in my legs before my problem was discovered. I was so tired, I'd wake up in the morning, get my daughter on the bus then go back to bed. She was in pre-k so she was home by noon. I would wake to get her then doze on the couch till dinner time. Then I'd be ok till about 10 then I was falling asleep on the couch again.

TERRIBLE! But things have improved A LOT!

Hair lose-taking your medication will most likely make you lose hair for a little while (up twp a couple months) till your body gets accustom to the higher level of TSH in your body. Till it gets all regulated, the dosage of Synthroid (or whatever you're on) will sort of cause you to become Hyperthyroid so you can count on experiencing some of symptoms of Hyper till you reach your correct dosage and optimal treatment.

next part...

Please remember this about the blood tests. The tests read how much TSH you have in your system. TSH mean Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. This is the hormone that makes you Thyroid work. It is NOT the amount of thyroid in you blood. So if your TSH is high, that means that your body is asking your Thyroid to make more hormone. Thus, your thyroid is NOT making enough THUS you are HYPOthyroid. If your TSH is LOW, you have too much thyroid hormone therefore you are HYPERthyroid. It is correct to say your thyroid function is low so you're hypo. I just want to point out that the blood test results are opposite of what you would think.

Symptoms of hyper and hypo can cross over. Jane might by Hyper and have heavy periods. While Jill might be Hypo and have no period at all.

If you have had blood tests done and you still think you are hypo/hyper then go to another DR. Don't ignore your symptoms! If it's not thyroid problems, there are lots of other things it could be. Don't let a DR poo-poo your symptoms.

My dosage is at 175mcg. That doesn't mean that my condition is worse than someone that takes 50mcg. That's just the amount that my body needs to function correctly.

Weight gain-I gained A LOT of weight before I was diagnosed. It's been 2 years, I still have not lost it. It's very hard to lose it now. I basically have to starve in order to lose anything. Sorry about that one.

Fatigue. There again, sorry about that too. It's better, but I don't think I'll ever feel fresh and young again, but you WILL find ways to work around it. I've discovered that a 20 minute power nap works wonders!

next....
How quick are you going to feel better? Well, that depends on what your symptoms were before. I had stuff from top to bottom. MOST of the advanced symptoms went away very fast. Like within a couple weeks. Other things it takes longer. But if you're asking how soon till you feel better? I can say I feel much better now after 2 years. BUT I can't tell you exactly when it happened. It's more like I admit that I feel better only because I don't feel bad anymore.
Will your hair come back in. YES! It will! Once you're at the right dosage and your body gets used to the med it should come back in. I had a beautiful mane of hair. It was so thick and long that I couldn't get a brush thru it. It got so thin and so ratty and brittle that I just ended up having it cut shorter just because. But it should come back!
Sluggish brain. That gets better too! I don't think I'm as quick as I used to be, but then again I'm not as young as I used to be either.
FOODS! This is something that most people don't know about, BUT many people with Thyroid issues can not tolerate SOY either! If I eat tuna with soy mayo, margarine made with soy or any of the other soy products out there I'm ready to fall asleep in just a few minutes! I did some research and found that infants with thyroids problems are put on soy free diet beacuse it can negate the effects of Thyroid replacements meds! I told my MIL (who is also hypo) and she cut out soy and she was amazed at how much better she feels!
The foods that can cause problems are called goitergenic (I think that's it) The problems with those can be nulled some if the foods are cooked. And they usually only cause a problem if they are eaten raw and in mass.
Try eliminating foods and see how you feel. If you feel better after stopping soy or cabbage then try to avoid it.
Dieting. Be careful about starting low/no carb diets. And don't think I'm about to bash them! I used to be an atkins counselor and my husband has lost a lot on low carb... BUT-being hypo WILL put you at risk for cholesterol problems! I decided to get back to LC but I had to stop when I went for a cholesterol check and the count was over 800!!!

Blood Pressure. I am seeing that more and more people end up taking some sort of a blood pressure med when they are hypo or hyper. My BP was fine till I was diagnosed. Once I started taking the Rx, my BP started going up and up and I ended up with tachycardia (fast heart rate) Since both of those are symptoms of hyper, it makes me wonder if it isn't the Rx that makes these things happen. But I'm on a med now that takes care of that. So no big deal.

Hyperthyroid with weight gain. YES that happens too. I JUST found out last week that my last increase put my into hyper. "Just found out" is a bit of lie since I KNEW 3 months ago that I wasn't feeling right. I suspected I had gone into hyper but I didn't have it checked out. So I'll just say I've been hyper for at least 3 months, but I didn't lose weight, maybe some, but not enough that I would go bragging about it.

If there is one thing that stands out about weight and Thyroid is that whatever you gain at the onset is the most you'll ever lose by correcting with meds. Same goes for hyper. As soon as the condition is corrected, at best your weight is going to go back to where is was.

The problem is that Thyroid helps control metabolism. And once it gets slowed down, it's not all that anxious to speed back up.

I think once you're diagnosed as hypo, the dr should just automatically hand you a diet plan and the membership application to a gym. He should then tell you to get rid of your scale and just do the best you can.

I have been hypo for years and have been on Rx for 2 years. Must people don't understand this conditions and drs aren't very helpful. Mine said "your thyroid is off the charts. Here's a Rx. Go get another blood test next month." And that's all he's ever said to me about my condition. The best thing you can all do is educate yourselves! Read books, read websites...read read read!

I can answer some of the questions -these are just from personal experience so you'll have to remember that you/your body/your reaction might be different from mine.

And just so you know, my TSH was at 118 when my DR finally discovered it. I had symptoms from the top of my head all the way to the bottom of my feet. But it took a trip to the ER for pitting edema in my legs before my problem was discovered. I was so tired, I'd wake up in the morning, get my daughter on the bus then go back to bed. She was in pre-k so she was home by noon. I would wake to get her then doze on the couch till dinner time. Then I'd be ok till about 10 then I was falling asleep on the couch again.

TERRIBLE! But things have improved A LOT!

Hair lose-taking your medication will most likely make you lose hair for a little while (up twp a couple months) till your body gets accustom to the higher level of TSH in your body. Till it gets all regulated, the dosage of Synthroid (or whatever you're on) will sort of cause you to become Hyperthyroid so you can count on experiencing some of symptoms of Hyper till you reach your correct dosage and optimal treatment.

Please remember this about the blood tests. The tests read how much TSH you have in your system. TSH mean Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. This is the hormone that makes you Thyroid work. It is NOT the amount of thyroid in you blood. So if your TSH is high, that means that your body is asking your Thyroid to make more hormone. Thus, your thyroid is NOT making enough THUS you are HYPOthyroid. If your TSH is LOW, you have too much thyroid hormone therefore you are HYPERthyroid. It is correct to say your thyroid function is low so you're hypo. I just want to point out that the blood test results are opposite of what you would think.

LOL Sorry about that! I didn't want to accept the whole post as a biggie and then as I broke it apart, the parts were not showing up. Oh well.:)